Grate groove-field



Aug. 12, 1969 J. WOLLENHAUPT GRATE GROOVE-FIELD 3 Sheets-Sheet- 2 Filed July 24, 1967 M I II II Fig.5

Aug- 1 1969 J. WOLLENHAUPT GRATE GROOVE-FIELD 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 24. 1967 Fig. 8

ilnited States U5. U. 74-568 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DESCLOSURE Structure forming a groove field for adjustable control cams and comprising bars in spaced parallel relation defining the grooves and notched support members engaging the bars and holding them fixedly in position.

The present invention relates to a grate-shaped groove field as cam carrier for the control cams of switches which comprises a plurality of grate bars of rectangular cross section arranged alongside each other in spaced relationship to each other.

Groove fields are employed for instance in connection with the automatic control of machine tools in which the machine has arranged thereon control switches While on the machine carriage cams are provided for the actuation of such control switches. The cams are so arranged that at the .desired point of the stroke of the machine carriage the said cams engage control strikers of the switches and actuate the same. For purposes of connecting the cams, it is known to employ groove fields which means fields with a plurality of grooves arranged in rows in which the cams are connected. In these groove fields, the control cams can be connected to a desired point or station and, whenever desired, can be again adjusted in an infinitely variable manner while the groove field affords the possibility of arranging over a relatively small surface a considerable number of control cams at precisely the desired and correct point.

A grate-shaped groove field has become known which comprises a plurality of parallel grate bars of rectangular cross section which are arranged alongside each other in spaced relationship to each other while between the grate bars near the ends thereof spacer means are provided. A bore extending parallel to the plane of the groove field extends through all of the grate bars and the spacer means. A screw passes through said bore and holds together the grate bars and the spacer means to thereby form a groove field. Thus, between the individual grate bars there are formed longitudinally extending grooves in which the cams can be connected from the bottom side of the groove field. This heretofore known grate-shaped groove field has various drawbacks inasmuch as the grate bars have to be provided with bores through which the connecting screws can pass. Said bores in the grate bars thus have to be precisely in alignment with each other and in addition thereto must also be of the same size so that the screw will properly fit in the bores. Nevertheless it is practically impossible in this way to produce a completely plane grate-shaped groove field. The precision of the bores in the grate bars required for this purpose is practically not obtainable economically. Therefore, it is necessary after the insertion of the screws to compensate for the respecatent 0 ice tive tolerances by means of keys and fitting pins in order to align the grate bars in a 'plane. In spite of this tolerance compensation effected in the above manner, it is necessary to post-machine the plane of the groove field by grinding in order to obtain completely smooth surfaces. The said heretofore known grate-shaped groove field can furthermore not be produced at any desired width, i.e. with any desired number of rows, because the screws which hold the bars toegther can have only a limited length.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a grate-shaped groove field which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a grateshaped groove field which is relatively simple in construction and can be produced with any desired width and length.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a grate-shaped groove field as set forth in the preceding paragraphs, in which the grade bars may consist of ordinary flat steel profiles without previous machining.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a grate-shaped groove field as set forth above, in which the elements interconnecting the grate bars will consist of uniform profiles so that only one single profile type is required in order to build up grate-shaped groove fields of any desired length and width.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a grate-shaped groove field according to the invention seen from one end and partially sectioned.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the groove field of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through a bar according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 diagrammatically represents an end view of a modified groove field according to the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a cutout of a grate-shaped groove field according to the invention with inserted control cam.

FIG. 6 is a cross section through the control cam shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an end view of a particularly wide grateshaped groove field according to the invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 7.

The objects of the present invention have been realized by the employment of comb-shaped profile supporting bars which transverse to the grate bars have their comb teeth facing each other arranged in such a way that in the space between each two teeth a grate bar is fittingly inserted.

The comb-like supporting bars which face each other are arranged at the ends of the grate bars in such a way that between these transverse supporting bars there remains the proper effective length of the groove field. The transverse supporting bars may, for instance, be produced by cutting a long profile bar of corresponding shape into slices so that each of said slices forms one of the transverse supporting bars. The said transverse supporting bars are advantageously made of light metal, such as aluminum. However, they may also be made of other suitable material and, for instance, also of suitable synthetic material.

Instead of producing the transverse supporting bars from a long profile bar or stock material and then cutting the same into individual members, there also exists the possibility of producing the bars as individual bars. In such an instance, they can be produced by pressure casting or, if synthetic material is employed, by drawing. This would have the adavntage that at the same time the bores can be formed.

In order to assure a firm fitting of the grate bars in the transverse supporting bars, it is provided that the width of the teeth of the transverse supporting bars equals the desired distance between the grate bars and that these teeth are somewhat shorter than half the height of the grate bars. With such a design, the grate bars will fit playfree in the supporting bars. When the bottoms of the tooth spaces of the supporting bars are precisely located on one and the same level, which is obtainable without difficulties, a grate-shaped groove field is obtained the upper surface of which is completely smooth and does not require any post-machining.

In a plane perpendicular to the plane of the groove field, the supporting bars are advantageously provided with aligned bores for the passage of connecting screws.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least two grate bars are provided in the groove field which on both sides protrude beyond the ends of the groove field and of the supporting bars. These grate bars are provided with fork-shaped extensions for connecting the groove field by means of threaded bolts. When larger groove fields are involved, it is, of course, possible to provide a plurality of such fork-shaped protrusions for connecting the groove field to the machine carriage.

With groove fields having a longer effective length, the bottom side of the grate bars may transverse to said grate bars respectively be provided with supporting bars spaced from each other and having their teeth extend between the grate bars. By means of said supporting bars, the grate bars are supported over an effective length and are prevented from buckling or oscillating. The teeth of said supporting bars extend from below into the grooves between the grate bars, but only up to hardly half the depth thereof so that the groove field within the range of its effective length is unimpeded from the top.

When a wide groove field of numerous rows is employed, the pairs of supporting bars may be arranged in two rows adjacent to each other and with offset butts. In this way, groove fields of any desired width can be produced without the necessity of having to produce particularly long supporting bar profiles.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof in particular, the embodiment shown therein comprises grate bars 12 of ordinary rectangular stock material. The grate bars 12 are arranged parallel to each other in such a way that a groove 13 is formed between each two grate bars 12. This arrangement of the grate bars 12 with regard to each other is obtained by profile supporting bars 14, 16 according to the present invention which are arranged at the ends of the grate bars 12 transverse to the said grate bars in such a way that the teeth (FIG. 3) of the supporting bars 14, 16 are located in slightly spaced relationship to each other. The grate bars 12 snugly fit into the tooth spaces 28 of the transverse bars 14, 16. The comb-shaped transverse supporting bars 14, 16 may consist, for instance, of light metal stock material but may also be made of any other suitable material. For purposes of producing these supporting bars 14, 16, a profile bar or stock bar is preferably rolled so that it will have the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 3 and is then cut into slices which form the supporting bars proper. Since the bores of the tooth spaces 28 between the teeth 26 must be precisely on the same level, it will suflice to insert the grate bars 12 precisely fitting into the tooth spaces 28 in order to assure that the finished grate-shaped groove field will have a completely smooth surface without requiring any post-machining.

When the grate-shaped groove field has an effective length w (FIG. 2) which exceeds the average length, it is possible for purposes of preventing bending, buckling, or oscillations of the grate bars 12, to insert additional supporting bars 16 within the range of the effective length from the bottom side of the groove field, said bars 16 being inserted in spaced relationship to each other. These supporting bars 16 will leave the bottom side of the groove field unimpeded for the control operation.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the groove field is connected to its support, for instance a machine carriage 10, by means of screw bolts 22. To this end, at a corresponding spacing from each other (in the present instance with interposed normal grate bar 12), two grate bars are extended toward both sides in conformity with the drawing at 18 and 20 so that fork-shaped protrusions are formed at the end face of the groove field. A clamping sleeve 24 extends over these protruding extensions 18, 20 and is connected by means of a screw bolt 22 which is threaded into a threaded bore 11 of the machine carriage 10. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the threaded sleeves 24 are so designed that in one length they protrude beyond the extensions 18, 20 and when being turned by will rest in the space between the extensions so that the groove field can be lifted off.

The required number of connecting points 18, 20, 22, 24, of course, depends on the size of the groove field and the magnitude of the occurring mechanical stresses.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the earns 35 are by means of the cam foot 36 inserted in customary manner into the grooves 13 between the grate bars 12 so that their shoulders rest against the top side of the grate bars 12. Thereupon, from the bottom side of the groove field with the interposition of a clamping element 33 a screw 40 is screwed into the cam 35 so that the latter is firmly connected to the groove field.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the grate bars 12 are connected to the supporting bar 14 and, if desired, also to the lower supporting bar 16 by means of rivets 30. Furthermore, with this embodiment, the supporting bars 14, 16 have aligned bores 32 through which screw bolts 34 are passed for connecting the groove field.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, there is provided a very wide groove field with numerous rows which groove field is composed of the same basic elements as the groove fields in the previously described embodiments. For purposes of obtaining the larger width of the groove field, the end faces of the groove field are additionally equipped with two rows 42, 44 of supporting bar pairs 14, 16 which are offset with regard to each other in such a way that the butts 46 between these supporting bars with the row 44 are located in the center of the supporting bars 14, 16 of row 42. As indicated in the right-hand lower corner of FIG. 8, it is possible in this way to form groove fields of any desired width from supporting bars 14, 16 the length of which corresponds to the width of an ordinary groove field.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular embodiments shown in the drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A structure forming a field of parallel grooves for adjustably receiving cams for effecting control functions and comprising: a plurality of bars rectangular in crosssection and arranged in parallel spaced coplanar relation so as to define the said grooves therebetween, bar-like support members extending transversely to said bars for fixedly supporting the bars in said parallel spaced coplanar relation, each support member having spaced notches therein closely receiving said bars and at least some of said support members being arranged in pairs with the notches thereof in aligned opposed relation so as to engage the said bars from opposite sides thereof, the distance between the notches in the support member equalling the desired distance between adjacent bars, the depth of the notches being less than half the thickness of said bars measured in the same direction so that said pairs of support members engage the bars but do not engage each other, and means provided for fixedly connecting at least some of said support members to said bars.

2. A structure according to claim 1 in which at least said pairs of support members are provided with bores for screws to connect the structure to a support therefor.

3. A structure according to claim 1 in which said pairs of support members are located at the ends of said bars, at least two bars projecting beyond said support members at each end of the structure to provide a fork-like extension at each end of the structure, and means engageable over said fork-like extensions for clamping said structure to a support therefor.

4. A structure according to claim 1 in which said pairs of support members are relatively widely spaced and there is arranged between said pairs of support members at least one single support member engaging said bars from underneath to prevent bending of said bars in the region between said pairs of support members.

5. A structure according to claim 1 in which, for sup- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,059,598 11/1936 Paulson 4620 2,946,150 7/1960 Hauk 4620 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 924,333 3/1947 France.

FRED C. MATTERN, JR., Primary Examiner F. D. SHOEMAKER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 77--3, 4 

